Live Love Laugh Learn . . . Create the possibilities

Flash Fiction Rodeo Contest #8

I can’t believe it! We’ve arrived at the final contest in the Carrot Ranch Flash Fiction Rodeo. We’ve been writing two stories a week all through October. I think I’ll be suffering withdrawal symptoms next month!
But this last one will keep me going for a while. It’s TUFF! If you remember George Smilovici from the eighties, you’ll recognise the question, “How TUFF?” Not too tuff for us! Let’s join in and give it a go.

TUFF: The Ultimate Flash Fiction

by Charli Mills

What if I told you that writing flash fiction will get you to where you want to be? Would you scoff, or consider the possibility? Would you think I’m handing you a magic elixir? Ah, an elixir. Let’s pause a moment and talk about the hero’s journey.

If you answered the call to participate in the Flash Fiction Rodeo this past month, you answered the same call every hero hears: the one the hero reluctantly answers. We think of heroes as Thor or Wonder Woman. Yet, the hero’s journey calls to us all. Winnie the Pooh and Frodo and Mary Tyler Moore are all heroes. It’s about the path:

The call: the opening scene in which the hero is called out of the ordinary world.

The test: the story develops conflict through tests, challenges, temptations, allies and enemies.